Posted
by
Hemos
on Tuesday February 12, 2002 @06:59PM
from the will-it-be-worth-the-money dept.

LukeG writes "Ferrago.co.uk has just gone live with a brand new preview of Lucas Arts' upcoming MMORPG, Star Wars: Galaxies. This game represents what could turn out to be the most popular online universe ever-created, especially if Everquest creators Verant can deliver the goods as fans hope. "

They've been outdone effects-wise, and frankly I am so tired of Hollywood getting down on its knees to beg for the money of little children by making bad movies just-for-them. It was perverse when Spielberg did it in Jurassic Park, and seeing it happen with Star Wars just makes me sick.

Agreed. Given the quality of most recent MMORPGs lately, or lack thereof, to wit:
Anarchy Online and World War II Online
not to mention the grand suckfulness that is ANY recent game with the words Star Wars in its title, this game will be hard-pressed not to suck.

Come on people! Realize that it's pure commercial drivel, not art nor nostalgia nor some sense of art that makes this crap move. You bought the crappy plastic little figures in 1977, and you're still buying junk.

Star Wars was -not- originally about selling something more - it was about making something new and fresh. From where I sit, this looks to be more of the latter.

First off, Galaxies is set between Episode IV and V, so it's true to the Trilogy - catering to (you guessed it!) the older audience that actually saw the Trilogy when they were younger/growing up, not the children you speak of that bought whatever those spinoff games were from Ep1. I'm sure you'd agree that the making of, say, Pod Racer, isn't anything similar in intensity as Galaxies. I doubt that many 'children' would have the ability to pay the subscription fees, nor that many parents have the will or money to pay that for their kids to play games - though, I suspect there are many parents that would pay that for themselves.:) And the topic of whether a child would want to sit and build a character from the ground up (we're speaking, say, sub-12 years of age category here, I think - or roughly approximating) for hours and hours on end instead of playing Pod Racer is insane. The rare and far between, but really - since when has anyone gotten rich by exploiting the 'rare and far between' individuals?

I can understand your bitterness concerning Episode I - hey, we're all with you on that one. It sucked elephant. This game doesn't seem to be of the same quality; at least not yet.

Man, what is with all this hype for everything lately? Everyone is saying "this will be the best game/movie/music" before it even comes out! It happened before with Harry Potter and LOTR, which were both good, but received automatic 10 ratings / two thumbs up before even coming out!!

I dont know why anybody would call anything "the best whatever" is beyond me, I must all pretty much come down to personal taste. And the salesfigures cant have anything to do with how good anything is, cause then titanic would be the best flick ever:)

BUT, I know why i look forward to this game. Because, if LucasArts keeps what the promisies theyve made in the offical FAQ. Its going to revoultionize the MMORPG genre, with the most complex infrastructure(youll have land, you can hire NPC , you can create towns. If youre really good at making blasters you could open a store(and hire a npc to sell em..) etc etc etc) everseen in such a game.

Its going to revoultionize the MMORPG
genre, with the most complex infrastructure(youll have land, you can hire NPC , you
can create towns. If youre really good at making blasters you could open a store(and
hire a npc to sell em..) etc etc etc)

actually the screen savers [techtv.com] already did it, sorta. It was when they reviewed the StarWars skin for warcraft (or ages or whatever it was...) that was passed off as a new game a while ago... the best quote of the review went along the lines of "but some parts of the star wars universe don't translate well... when was the last time you saw a jedi knight hacking away at a building with a light saber?... but decimating a legion of jar-jar binks with a couple jedis is a thing to behold."

I suppose the Empire is not supposed to get wind of your little plot and send an armada of ships to nuke them from orbit - it's the only way. Or send streams of stormtroopers onto the planet to eradicate ("I didn't realize massacre had a negative connotation") every living thing that looks like it might be resisting. Maybe these stormtroopers can actually shoot straight.

Think of the viscious fights over who gets to be the first to kill Jar-Jar Binks.

The designers probably know that everyone would want to kill Jar Jar. That being the case, here are my guesses as to how they can deal with that eventuality:

1: Make Jar-Jar extremely kick-ass and very difficult to kill.
2: Surround Jar-Jar in a very protected place surrounded by some extremely hard-core NPC's who will protect him to the death.
3: Hide Jar-Jar in some really remote location. If someone finds him, they deserve to finish him.
4: (Most likely) Leave Jar-Jar out of the game.

After seeing them do this time after time in EQ, and seeing the players succeed (by out-ubering each other, camping XP/loot spots, for this sole purpose), I'd be surprised if they didn't use this method.

This was the best part of The Phantom Menace 3rd person adventure game... in the Gungan city you could kill EVERY SINGLE GUNGAN.. well, except for Jar Jar:( Since the goal of the mission is to rescue him.

Still, it's great fun to watch a tiny Gungan child run away screaming about monsters right before you cut em to ribbons:)

Screaming hordes of Jedi apprentices and Boba Fetts roaming from planet to planet. Storms of rocks and packing crates darkening the skies as thousands practice their telekinetic skills. Every conversation being conducted with constant frantic hand-waving. A light-sabre enhanced melee over the one Millenium Falcon ship that lasts 24-hours a day for months.

Ya lets just ignore X-Wing Tie-Fighter, Dark Forces, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. Perhaps you mean any good new games. Although I've heard that the most recent Star Wars rts game at least qualifies as decent.

While I love a good preview, this is nothing more than fluff... I could have written a more interesting review by just making stuff up. I'd love a review with some actual specs in it.

That said, I can't wait for this to come out! It's great that Verant is developing the game since they can bring their experiences with everquest (ie maybe solving the nightmare upgrade weeks) to this title.

I predict that about one in three characters will look like Boba Fett, and a hell of a lot of others will be bounty hunters [geocities.com] of various sorts.

As a result, bounty hunting will be an incredibly low-wage job. The streets will be thicker with desperate BHs than San Francisco is with pinkslipped web designers . . . begging for a chance to work, perhaps even carrying around WILL KILL FOR FOOD or WILL CAPTURE FOE FOR ROCKET PACK FUEL signs.

A friend predicted that to more evenly balance the distribution of characters, they will fiddle the stats and the most popular character will be the Ewok, since they'll have unlimited capacity for Jedi power accumilation or something.

It is a period of civil war. Rebel hackers, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Verant Empire and it's horrific Everquest.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the STAR WARS MMORPG, a new and more powerful form of digital crack with enough power to enslave an entire planet.
Pursued by Verant's sinister agents across the EQ serves, Princess CowboyNeal races home aboard her...er...his avatar, custodian of the stolen beta that can save his nerds and restore freedom to the galaxy...

From what I hear this will actually be pretty different in the structure. I hate dealing with the I'm IRC'ing feeling that I get while trying MMORPGs. It's IRC with a lot of clicking.

That being said, City of Heroes [cityofheroes.com] looks pretty damned cool. One thing I think a lot of the RPGs are missing is an actual real-time realistic combat system. If I'm holding two swords, or a sword and a shield, I want to be able to use both the way I want to. I don't want any autoblocking, or a 'Two handed slash attack'. I want to see realistic fighting in these games.

I know it takes a lot more resources to code, and handle, but damnit it would be sweet.

10six www.10six.com has real time combat, in an FPS format. It's one of the more innovative combat models that i've seen. You attack with your avatar and rovers (robotic assistants) which you control. It goes in real time and is quite for (more fun than standard FPSes). Not only that, but they back it up with a fun world too. While it's strictly about mining and fighting it's loads of fun.

The only reason I quit was that it took about 3 hours a day of play to have a half way decent character. Any less and some asshole would take your stuff (the games goes on when you log off, and your camps are susceptible to attack)

Thanks for the link, unfortunately any game that requires me to play for 3 hours a week will be neglected. That is why SWG sounds spiffy, you can still progress.. just really slowly if you don't play often.

I have an idea for an RPG that I hope someone picks up which is automating your tasks. You have your own defined safe zones (which you can setup as part of another players zone, and then it is a cascade effect) that are patrolled by the NPCs. You can automate tasks while in the safe zone, there by still increasing your skills in the game but only in the field you were doing while logging off and then have a/2 ratio on the skill or something. In order to be attacked, they have to take out your top level providor (Which, if it's computer controlled, would be difficult) and to keep people from doing that always setting it up so that you have to pay pretty hefty taxes for the security. It would provide a safety net for the really high up players that can afford it, and incentive for the lower players to team up with other higher players who have their own zones or play more and get their own secured zones (with computer soldiers that you pay to sustain, offset by collecting "rent" from lower players wanting safety)

I have a lot of great ideas for RPGs.. Unfortunately time doesn't allow me actually working on refinine any of them, or making them a reality.

I'm sure you'll never see the hero waving his blessed lightsaber advancing on an attacker that has a un-pinned grenade waiting behind his back. Use the force? Let's see you aviod one high energy explosion jedi boy....

Yes it does, however the only thing it is lacking is the ability of being a villan. This may cause for some not so exciting and repetitive action, with everyone day after day battling the same AI. I guess with the exception of the Arena combat the FAQ [cityofheroes.com] talks about. What I would like to see is Rockstar get into the worlds of MMORPGs, maybe a Liberty City simulator, (AKA GTA4), where people can choose what kind a hood or vigilante they'd want to be, Mafia, Triad, Diablo or otherwise common hood. But if that ever came out, I think I'd lose my job, girlfriend and all ambitions in life. (So bad idea, don't listen to me Rockstar...)

Rockstar has made noises about GTA3:Miami (coming out this fall) being an "expansion pack" and GTA4 (due 2003) coming with the ability to join up to 15 other players in forming a gang, roving the streets, beating up rival gangs, pimps, taking on squads of SWAT troopers, etc.

One thing I think a lot of the RPGs are missing is an actual real-time realistic combat system.

Do you mean a system where as you see your oppontent preparing to strike at your neck with his sword, you then need to use the "shield parry" command (or skill) to then block, but only at the right time, and of course, only at the right height (your neck)... so those who try to attack at the same time might find themselves decapitated? Obviously the better you got the faster your opponent and thus the less time to react...

...is why you would want to play a game based on an epic series where you don't get to be a main character.

It's like playing a hobbit in the shire in a LOTR MMORPG. Big deal. All these world shattering events are occuring and you're pulling weeds out from between your toes.

So what if you get to play a stormtrooper in the Empire? you can't REALLY make a big difference in the game because you already know that Lando is going to blow up the death star. You can only be a "big fish in a little pond" in a way. Sure, you can be the biggest despot on the planet you control, but so what?

Games like "Asherons Call" and even "Everquest" would seem to be a little more fun. There is a chance that you could be the one that casts the ancient sepll that sends the evil back to where it came, or you could be the one that becomes the biggest source of evil in the world.

Not to mention the fact that MMORPG means you have to interact with other people online. bleh. I've had my fill of 10 year olds trash talking in CS and Quake. Who needs some skeezoid playing a wookie to start following you around, picking you up and shaking you for change every chance he gets?

And this differs from real life in what respect? It's not as though most of us have any hope of becoming Leader Of The Universe; we do what we can, we influence the world as we are able. And hopefully make some difference.

Exactly my point, if I'm going to play a fantasy game. I don't want it to BE like real life. I WANT to be the guy that storms the Normandy beach and LIVES. I want to be the Jedi that defeats Darth Vader. Not the janitor that cleans up after the bounty hunters bachelor party.

"I WANT to be the guy that storms the Normandy beach and LIVES. I want to be the Jedi that defeats Darth Vader."

You can. There are computer games designed for the single player gaming experience. Surprisingly they have been around for decades, and are even sold in the same stores that will carry Star Wars: Galaxies. WOW what a wonderful world.

Well I understand the concept of being just one person in a big world trying to make a difference. That's the point of World War II online.

But the main difference there is, there wasn't ONE person or a small group of people that were the reason the Nazis were defeated. It was all of the soldiers in the field, dying and trying.

With Star Wars, no matter how hard the guys in the X-Wing flew it still took Luke to defeat the emperor and Lando to blow up the DS.

I don't think a game called "Mediocrity" would sell very well.

"Mediocrity. The only online MMORPG that lets you be the bartender at the club, or the waitress at Hooters."

The millions playing WWII online ARE important, and the millions playing EQ or AC have the possibility of being important. I just don't see the point with Star Wars. At least even in the Star Trek universe you would have the possibility of playing a large role in a major storyline. The Star Trek universe is much more open ended.

Maybe if the SW MMORPG was set after the Empire was overthrown it would make more sense.

all games these days release buggy as hell, with patches expected within the first few days -- WWII Online, AO, Everquest, every single MMPORG you can think of has released buggy as hell and then been patched...this is now standard operating procedure.

so I don't think they'll actually deliver the goods until well after the game is released. It may actually become a good game after a while, but it won't be "the best ev4r!!1!" for quite a while.

It's going to be fun as hell to kill Jar-Jar over and over again, though. ("Yippee!")

Ignoring for the moment the many other issues I have with your post, this verb simply makes no sense here. "If you can't keep the hype up, you let loose or release..." what, exactly? Or perhaps you were looking for the word lose, indicating a failure to win.

Congratulations! You have been participant #31 in my campaign to rid Slashdot of this error.

This review seems to have gotten all of its information - including screenshots - from the official website [sony.com]. There's no insider information, no developer/producer interviews, and the technical information is... well... lacking. For example: "Well, I can tell you that the game will likely be utilising modems, so expect some slow play with all of those worlds to contend with... " Yikes.

Not only that, the author can't even get his Star Wars (or planetary systems) facts stright: "Obviously, the game will be set in the Star Wars universe (duh), but is not confined to just a single planet (hence the 'Galaxies' bit)" - Since when has any Star Wars episode been limited to one planet? And if there are multiple galaxies, it will certainly be a departure from the Star Wars mythology.

Let the site get slashdotted - wait for the game to be released and wait for a real review.

The lead designer for SWG is Raph Koster. Most of you probably don't know who Raph Koster is - but you'd know (or at least know of) his work. Does Ultima Online [uo.com] ring any bells? Raph Koster was the lead developer for UO for quite some time - from it's introduction through until the introduction of the second expansion (and possibly a bit longer than that). UO was VERY popular - at least in part due to Raph's influence. He has shown an ability to work with a product which has a heritage (people have been playing Ultima since the days of the Apple ][e), and the ability to work with someone important to that heritage (Richard Garriott in the case of UO). So I can't see the heritage SWG inherits from the SW movies, or the involvement of George Lucas, being a problem to him at all as he goes about developing what should be another successful MMORPG.

All in all, I wish Raph, and the other developers, the best of luck, and I am definately looking forward to seeing how SWG goes once it's released. I may even play it!:)

Thanks for your mirror. If you do this again (please please please keep doing this, google does not cache images)
you can create a link in slashdot by using plain html:
&lt a href = "
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mish/swg/" &gt here &lt/a&gt
results in :
here [paradise.net.nz]

This game represents what could turn out to be the most popular online universe ever-created

Or it could be a steaming pile of turd. An article entitled 'Been playing this game for 3 months, here's a detailed review explaining exactly why it's the best of the lot' would be a hell of a lot more interesting and useful.

I really do like the idea of MMORPG's; they give you the chance to live another life, so to speak. It would seem that they are the 'way forward' too, what with titles such as Planetside and Final Fantasy XI on the way and superb games such as Dark Ages of Camelot and Everquest already here. The only thing that I really feel is lacking from these great games is a familiar setting, one that we all know and love; a setting with intense character and charm, somewhere that we have all wanted to be a part of... so what would you say if I told you of a MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe, with every detail complete (hopefully, anyhow) and all of your favourite characters? It seems too good to be true doesn't it? Well, LucasArts Entertainment (with Everquest creators, Verant) aim to deliver you the ultimate Star Wars experience, ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Star Wars Galaxies.

Star Wars Galaxies is currently under development by LucasArts Entertainment and Sony Online; with Verant lending their skills. It has a certain pedigree, too, with these developers behind it, can they pull off such a mammoth task without upsetting thousands of Star Wars fans? We'll take a look...

Obviously, the game will be set in the Star Wars universe (duh), but is not confined to just a single planet (hence the 'Galaxies' bit), LucasArts hint at many planets being used in the title, but as of the moment only Tatooine, Naboo and Yavin IV have been confirmed. I don't doubt for a second that all of the other famous Star Wars planets will make an appearance, I expect to see Hoth, Endor (I know it's a moon, really) and others popping up soon. LucasArts have stated that they want many smaller planets in the title (each one around 16km in size), rather than just one huge world to circumnavigate, which wouldn't give that Star Wars 'feel' to the game, instead giving a more diverse ambience to the proceedings. It would seem that LucasArts want you to explore in this title, but on a much grander scale than anything before it.

I hope to god the creators of Everquest can create a game this time that doesnt require a fuckin Gig of ram to run decently. Not like I don't haveit...it just shouldnt take that much. Hopefully better planning will go into the game.

"I really do like the idea of MMORPG?s; they give you the chance to live another life, so to speak.
"

Yeah, unfortunately you have to give up what life you had before to play your new life.

The worst ever was when text-based MUDS like Mozart had "renting"- meaning you had to put a couple of hours of play in every day even if you didn't want to in order to make enough gold that your stuff wouldn't get lost.

I really do like the idea of MMORPG's; they give you the chance to live another life, so to speak. It would seem that they are the 'way forward' too, what with titles such as Planetside and Final Fantasy XI on the way and superb games such as Dark Ages of Camelot and Everquest already here. The only thing that I really feel is lacking from these great games is a familiar setting, one that we all know and love; a setting with intense character and charm, somewhere that we have all wanted to be a part of... so what would you say if I told you of a MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe, with every detail complete (hopefully, anyhow) and all of your favourite characters? It seems too good to be true doesn't it? Well, LucasArts Entertainment (with Everquest creators, Verant) aim to deliver you the ultimate Star Wars experience, ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Star Wars Galaxies.

Star Wars Galaxies is currently under development by LucasArts Entertainment and Sony Online; with Verant lending their skills. It has a certain pedigree, too, with these developers behind it, can they pull off such a mammoth task without upsetting thousands of Star Wars fans? We'll take a look...

Obviously, the game will be set in the Star Wars universe (duh), but is not confined to just a single planet (hence the 'Galaxies' bit), LucasArts hint at many planets being used in the title, but as of the moment only Tatooine, Naboo and Yavin IV have been confirmed. I don't doubt for a second that all of the other famous Star Wars planets will make an appearance, I expect to see Hoth, Endor (I know it's a moon, really) and others popping up soon. LucasArts have stated that they want many smaller planets in the title (each one around 16km in size), rather than just one huge world to circumnavigate, which wouldn't give that Star Wars 'feel' to the game, instead giving a more diverse ambience to the proceedings. It would seem that LucasArts want you to explore in this title, but on a much grander scale than anything before it.

The planets themselves will be divided into many sections, but unlike Everquest, transition into another 'zone' will be completely seamless. LucasArts plan to have different sections for each different type of game mode, so separate zones for interaction (cities and living spaces), battles and travel. There will also be different sectors within each zone, such as wild (dangerous!), safe (errrmm) and truce. Truce is a sector where absolutely no fighting can occur even between rival factions, so in theory you can't just waltz up to someone and shoot them, ending any 'newbie' kills. It's generally not a good idea to randomly attack anyone in Galaxies at all though; as you never know if there's a Lightsaber somewhere under the enemy's cloak...

One feature of the game that will have fans back-flipping with joy is the timeline. Galaxies is set in what LucasArts call the 'Classic Era', as in between episodes IV and V. That places it somewhere between the destruction of the first Death Star and the Empire's attack on the Rebel base on Hoth. I am so glad that they didn't set this game in the Episode I era, the game would not have been half as interesting! LucasArts said that they had set the game in this so called 'classic' period so that they could have access to all of the main Star Wars characters, aside from Obi-Wan. This gives them a huge variety of NPC's at their disposal.... oh yeah.... that's the other point, the characters...

You may be disappointed to learn that you can't be Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo or Leia. In fact you can't take on the role of any of the Star Wars characters themselves, you can't even be a stormtrooper (not that you'd want to, because you wouldn't be allowed out of the barracks!). No, it would seem that you will have to create you own character, right from the beginning, but that's fine by me, I want to carve my own destiny, as should you all. This doesn't mean that you won't see the main characters, they will all be present as NPCs, hell, you may even get to interact with them, but killing them is impossible, as they are vital to plot-lines and such. As if your weak human avatar could kill Vader anyway...

When you actually get around to creating you character, you will discover that it's a little different from the likes of Everquest. In Galaxies, there is no level system, instead LucasArts have optioned for a 'Skill System'. The Skills system will utilise skill trees, as you start learning a skill, it will develop and branch out, giving your character a great many skills to master. The skills trees will not be linear either, LucasArts promise, as you can change to another skill at any point (you may feel that blaster repair is a lot more vital than crop-tending skills, for example). This 'system' should mean that your character will develop a great variety of skills and no two should be alike, meaning, hopefully, greater player diversity. It's also interesting to note that aside from the obvious allegiances (Rebel or Imperial); LucasArts seem to reward the player who prefers to go it alone. There are very few 'clans' within the original package. Obviously a great many will appear when the game finally goes online, but it's nice to see that the developers have gone for this approach for a change as it could lead to hundreds of warring factions... Which would be something to behold, certainly.

As for your character itself, you can choose from many different species for your avatar. At the moment Humans, Mon Calamari, Zabrak, Rodians, Twi'leks, Trandoshan, Wookies and Bothans have all been announced and expect more to appear. LucasArts have also revealed that you can be a Jedi if you wish, although all budding Obi-Wan's take note: the path of the Force will be most difficult, whichever path you choose! With all of these species and such to choose from and then their skill trees on top, you are presented with an immense variety of life. It will be incredible if LucasArts and co. can pull it off!

Equipment. Star Wars wouldn't be the same without all of the gadgets and gizmos, so it is no surprise that the programmers are ensuring that all of your favourite Star Wars goodies (including the rare Mandalorian Armour) will be included. Your character will be able to loot bodies and battlefields for such supplies, as with any MMORPG, however Galaxies hopes to introduce weapons building. Yes, your character can build his, or her own Lightsaber, to his your very own design (double ended?) as well as blasters and such, giving your character an arsenal that is unique. You can also buy droids to act as a sidekick, a star fighter to zip around in, build your own house, shop or farm (in space allotted to you by the server), you can even build yourself a Rebel base... this should make the experience unlike any other MMORPG before, if it all works. At the moment all of these promises look very distant indeed, I hope that LucasArts can deliver the goods.

So what of the nitty gritty details? The bits that are a little boring but a necessity? Well, I can tell you that the game will likely be utilising modems, so expect some slow play with all of those worlds to contend with... a similar problem to Planetside. Also, expect a subscription fee, it would appear that gaming of this quality will not come cheap (as if Mr. Lucas hasn't made enough out of Star Wars anyway!). However aside from a few minute creases, this is shaping up to be one of the heavy hitters in the MMORPG world. Let's hope that LucasArts aren't just jumping onto the MMORPG bandwagon to make a quick buck...

So, until we see Galaxies close up to determine just what life in a galaxy far, far away is really like, live long and prosper... No, wait, that's not right...

It's doubtless something that has been asked before, but - with all of the advances in this genre, and the habit-forming tendencies of games like EQ - how long can it be until we see a substantial shift in gamers towards the virtual reality offered by this kind of game?

Given that there is a proven market for transactions of weapons/characters/etc. on ebay (for example), there's scope for the seasoned/talented player to actually make a living living the game, so to speak. As games become more complex and immersive, who can doubt that we will soon see groups of people who enter the game - and never come out?

And, if this is the future, is it necessarily a bad thing? The issue of procreation aside, intellectual pursuits can arguably be carried out as well (or better) in an online virtual existance as in "real life". Those with social difficulties find an arena in which they can perform and blossom. Etc., etc..

What do you think the odds are of being able to choose a name like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo in the game? They Probably are already taken before the game even starts. Now how many Luke Skywalker113978723 do you think there will be? Then if you were able to get the name Luke Skywalker and work him up to level 40 how much do you think you could get for him on Ebay. I think it would bring the auctions up to a whole new level for virtual world stuff. You probably won't even be able to be Luke Skywalker12148098432 you'll end up being jfdsalkj123342089787 because it will be so big that will be the only name left. Oh well, It will probably be a good game, Lucas will probably make a fortune, and I'll probably go blind playing it.

Also remember that Verant has been using a name validator for some time in EQ to filter out names that are obviously obscene. It would take only a few minutes of work to add several dozen variations of 'Luke' 'Han' and 'Leia' to this setup.

GM's in both EQ and DOAC have been known to force characters to change their name. Just recently, a buddy who plays on DOAC had his name forcibly changed to something more acceptable than 'Myazz'.

The Star Wars fans will never be pleased. Nothing will ever be as good as the first 3 (or even the first one) and they will stand by it and crucify everything lucas makes...yet they call themselves fans.

Ok, so we set a MMORPG in the Star Wars universe. Sounds Good. What do you immediately think? "Wow, I can play a budding Jedi like Luke Skywalker!" or "I'm gonna be a cool bounty Hunter like Boba Fett".

Now think about it, what's gonna happen when everyone logs in to create their characters? That's right, everyone will be playing the same couple of types of characters. Joe-Everybody will want to be a Jedi master and Jane-Everybody else will be walking around dressed like Fett. I mean, who's gonna log on and think "Hey, I've got to try being a farmer like Luke's uncle!" It's the Star Wars universe, come on, it's cool and sci-fi'y!

And now for something completely different:

Star Wars MMORPG: $60
Online account: $10/month
New Computer to run sys requirements: $1500
The ability to use the phrase "Feel the Force, B*tch!" in a Star Wars environment after fragging someone: Priceless

I got the distinct impression the reviewer (or previewer?) is not familair with the subject matter - I mean what was that bit about modems about? "[the game] will use modems" ?? what for exactly? Or did he mean that er.. players who use modems to connect to an ISP will be erm.. using them still when they play this game?

And the fact that you created your own character seemed a revelation to this guy - even though he claimed knowledge of Everquest and a whole bunch of other games. Ever heard of "role playing"?? hehe and then the final shock news - they'll be charging for it! Well er duh! do ya think?

Still - the game looks nice - hell if game models and rendering get much better, Lucasfilm will be able to shoot Episode III in the damm game:)

Star War Galaxies will be an interesting test of the viability of MMPORGs in the mass market I believe. At the moment, we're seeing a potential deluge of games being sold to a limited audience - and the majority of the games are suffering. Games that require such a wholehearted commitment are petulant bitches who will suffer no rival for their time, so having two or three of the things on the go at once is simply not an option.

What seems to be happening is that the next big thing will come out (DAOC) and people will tentatively set foot outside the last big thing (EQ) before realising that abandoning their year's investment is simply not an option and returning to their (perhaps inferior) previous game. DAOC is going through this at the moment - when I was playing a few months ago, there would be a regular 1000+ players at anyone time... last night when I looked, it was more like 300-400.

Publishers are having to try new ways of distributing to get the attention of gamers. Recently, several MMPORGs have gone to the free download or magazine giveaway model (WWIIOnline, Darkspace, Jumpgate, EQ) in an effort to snare punters commitment free. Only time will tell if this works.

Star Wars Galaxies on the other hand represents something of a new beast - a can't-succeed business model, with a can't-lose license. I'm interested to see how it will fair.

The screenshots [sony.com]
look impressive.
It would be cool if I could play that on
my platform [debian.org].
And however I realize, that I belong
to the minority [linuxgames.com] of gamers
(which is good, like Mark Twain has already said,
"Whenever you find yourself on the
side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."), I still think that when they
would wisely program this game for
many [playstation.com]
different [microsoft.com]
gaming [nintendo.com]
platforms [sega.com] and
few [microsoft.com]
desktop [apple.com]
ones [sun.com],
it'd be a piece of cake to release
other [linux.org] version.
But I'm affraid that they would prefer us to
use [lindows.com]
other [winehq.com]
options [transgaming.com],
unfortunately...